26 SWINE 



of feed eaten in Fig. 2 of the cut, it is seen that after nine 

 months of age the pig does not eat much more feed than 

 previously in absolute quantity. When calculated in feed 

 eaten per hundred pounds live weight. Fig. 3 of the cut 

 illustrates very conclusively w^hat happens. 



Feed Eaten Per Hundred Pounds Live Weight. — Sec- 

 tion 3 of the same cut shows that when the pig is three 

 months old he is eating almost six pounds of feed daily 

 per hundred pounds of live weight. This decreases quite 

 rapidly for several months, and then more slowly, until 

 only 2.35 pounds of feed is eaten daily per hundred pounds 

 live weight by a pig that is 12 months old. On the basis 

 of 100 pounds live weight this shows that the older the 

 pig, the smaller is the quantity of feed eaten. Even 

 though the total amount of feed required for maintenance 

 per hundred pounds live weight does not increase, there 

 is the factor of waste, which will be explained later, that 

 does increase, which, together with the fact that the pig 

 gradually eats a smaller amount as he gets older, makes 

 the gains much more expensive. The more nearly ma- 

 turity is approached the more expensive these gains be- 

 come. Consequently the larger the breeding stock the 

 earlier will be the age at which market hogs reach the 

 desired weight and the more economical will be the 

 gains ; therefore, the greater will be the profit. 



Maturity. — A hog that cannot be put into good market 

 condition until it comes to maturity is not a desirable 

 animal because maturity in general is not attained until 

 about two years of age. During past decades early ma- 

 turity was a point of prime significance in the minds of 

 breeders, and this characteristic was developed to such 

 an extent that many hogs of today are not as large or as 

 profitable producers of pork as their ancestors were. The 



